Highlights From Key Research Findings on Early Childhood Education
Following is a selection of research findings related to early childhood development and education and the professional development of early childhood practitioners.
- Challenging Common Myths About Young English Language Learners
- Partnering for Preschool: A Study of Center Directors in New Jersey´s Mixed-Delivery Abbott Program
- Racial-Ethnic Inequality in Child Well-Being from 1985-2004: Gaps Narrowing, but Persist
- Child Care Work Environments: The Relationship with Learning Environments
- Infant-Toddler Early Learning Guidelines
- Teacher Education and PK Outcomes: Are We Asking the Right Questions?
- The Science of Early Childhood Development : Closing the Gap Between What We Know and What We do
- Successfully Supporting All children in Early Childhood Education Programs
- Teacher Colleges Do Not Dedicate Enough Time to Child Development
- The "Whole Teacher" Approach is Better for Professional Development
Challenging Common Myths About Young English Language Learners
Linda Espinosa, former professor of Early Childhood Education at the University of Missouri-Columbia challenges six common beliefs about the development of English Language Learners and presents research evidence to better shape education policy for all children. The study concludes that young children are capable of learning more than one language, recommends dual language programs as a good way of improving academic achievement for ELL students and emphasizes that hispanic parents value high-quality education and will enroll their children if the programs are affordable and accessible.
Partnering for Preschool: A Study of Center Directors in New Jersey´s Mixed-Delivery Abbott Program
New Jersey implemented in 1999 the Abbott Preschool Program to provide early education services for private centers, Head Start Programs and public schools. The program seeks to offer preschool teachers the same pay of K-12 teachers and to establish similar qualifications for them. The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, interviewed 98 participating programs to find out more about the implementation of the program and suggestions for improvement. The majority of directors made suggestion to improve the Abbott Preschool Program, however their assessments were very positive mentioning that the initiative had improved the quality of their programs and that children had made notable gains in their learning and school readiness.
Racial-Ethnic Inequality in Child Well-Being from 1985-2004: Gaps Narrowing, but Persist
The Foundation for Child Development released the first report to analyze how child and youth well-being has evolved among Black, Hispanic and White children from 1985 to 2004. Using the Child Well-Being Index that they developed, the report presents a new picture for them. Key findings include improvements in the quality of life for all children, Black and Hispanic children are advantaged in the emotional/spiritual domain and the gaps in family economic well-being narrowed for both populations.
Child Care Environments: The Relationship with Learning Environments
A recently published study by researchers Lower and Cassidy in the Journal of Research in Childhood Education focused on establishing the relationship between program administration and global quality, specifically if the organizational climate and global quality, administrative practices and staff's perceptions of organizational climate influenced the establishment of quality work and learning environments.
The study found a dynamic relationship among program leadership and management practices, teacher's perception of their work environment reflected in its organizational climate and how those variables relate to the classroom practices experienced by children.
Download Research Notes from the McCormick Tribute Center for Early Childhood Leadership 
or Read the Study
Infant/Toddler Guidelines
A document from the National Infant and Toddler Child Care Initiative at Zero to Three that discusses Infant-Toddler Early Learning Guidelines was recently released. The document is a resource for the states that are currently developing and revising the Early Learning Guidelines for infants and toddlers as a response to the Good Start, Grow Smart initiative.
Teacher Education and PK Outcomes: Are We Asking the Right Questions?
An article from the Foundation for Child Development published in Early Childhood Research Quarterly that challenges recent research that finds no relationship between pre kindergarten teacher qualifications and child outcomes.
The Science of Early Childhood Development: Closing the Gap Between What We Know and What We do
This publication from the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child provides a concise framework for understanding the science of early childhood and brain development as it relates to policies and programs that could make significant differences in the life of children. The document includes a discussion on the Seven Core Concepts of Development and their implications for policy and practice.
Publication: Successfully Supporting All children in Early Childhood Education Programs
The New York State Development Disabilities Planning Council published a collection of articles from early care and education programs across the state to describe adequate strategies for:
- the implementation models that build partnerships and collaborations between programs that support the inclusion of children with disabilities
- offering training and technical assistance that support inclusive child care practices, and
- adaptation strategies to address policy or practice barriers
Study: Teacher Education Programs Should Put More Time Into Child Development
According to a new study from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, teacher colleges do not spend enough time on child and adolescent development. The report evaluated more than half of the teacher programs in the nation and concluded that even though most colleges offer courses on these topics, they do not explain how to apply the concepts in the classroom.
Report: The "Whole Teacher" Approach is Better for Professional Development
A report from the Eriksson Institute of Chicago proposes the "whole teacher" development approach as the basic framework to integrate the professional development experiences of teachers. The report identifies four key aspects to this approach:
- Promoting the development of skills, attitude and classroom practices that addresses the individuals needs and motivations of teachers
- Addressing specific instructional areas such as science, music or math
- Using teaching strategies that take into account specific objectives and their relationships
- Providing instruction at different levels- from beginners to experts